


A Different Fate

by jedimasterstar



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-21
Updated: 2011-08-21
Packaged: 2017-10-21 14:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/226328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedimasterstar/pseuds/jedimasterstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate Howard was just a young woman trying to get through life.  Who knew that she was going to be kidnapped by people from the future and forced to raise a baby.  Will she be able to ever find a way to escape along with the baby?  And what will she do if she does?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What am I Going to Do?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a major AU post-AGMGTW.
> 
> This was originally going to be used for oc_bigbang, but personal problems had made me drop out. But I am going to be working on this story and will try to post as often as I can. This story is going to be shorter than originally intended, but I may turn it into a series if people like it.
> 
> There is also a slight crossover with the 2001 film _Thor_. But this is only a one time thing.

_"I hate them,”_ thought Katherine Howard as she wandered down the street of New York City. She just got off the phone with her father, who was once again threatening to take her out of the will if she did not come home. Kate just blew him off. “ _I am twenty-seven years old, for goodness sake. I think that I can take care of myself_ ,” she thought. But her father was always the controlling one, more so now since her mother died. He always thought that she should do things his way; but Kate was the rebellious one, always pushing the limits. Her brothers were a different story – they wanted to stay in his good graces so they would be able to get a piece of the inheritance. “ _They can keep it,”_ she thought.

Hearing her phone go off again, she mumbled, “It better not be him again.” She looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was Jane Foster. “ _What now?”_ she thought as she flipped the phone open.

Before she could even say anything, she heard an excited voice say, **_“Kate? Are you there?”_**

“Who else would it be? Your mother?” she sarcastically retorted.

 ** _“Give me a break,”_ ** replied Jane. **_“Why do you have to be that way?”_**

“Because it’s fun?”

 **  
_“You are pathetic. Anyway, I think I figured it out!”_   
**

Kate sighed. It had to figure. “About that wormhole thing?” she asked.

 **  
_“The Einstein-Rosen Bridge, yes.”_   
**

“The wormhole thing.”

She smiled as she heard the exasperated sigh. **_“Quit it. Anyway, I think I may have found a way to open it.”_**

“Oh, Jane.”

 **  
_“Listen. If I can work the calculations out right, I should be able to build a device that would make an artificial wormhole.”_   
**

“That’s going to take a lot of money and equipment,” said Kate.

 ** _“It’s taken care of_ ,” **replied Jane.

 _“More than likely by Nick Fury,”_ thought Kate. She heard about what happened in New Mexico; and she had more than one run-in with the enigmatic director of SHIELD that she knew how he operated. “So, if you get it working – and that is a BIG if –what’s next?” she asked.

There was a pause. **_“I haven’t thought that far yet,”_ ** replied the scientist.

“Typical.”

 **  
_“It’s going to work.”_   
**

“Sure, Jane, and I’m the queen of England,” retorted Kate as she walked down the sidewalk.

 ** _“It will work,”_ ** insisted Jane.

Kate sighed again. Ever since the incident in Puente Antiguo, her friend had become obsessed with finding that Einstein-Rosen bridge, or whatever it was called. And Kate had no idea why. “Why is finding it so important to you?” she asked.

There was another pause before Jane replied, **_“I can’t tell you.”_**

“Because of SHIELD?”

 **  
_“Not just that.”_   
**

“Damn it, Jane!” she roared. “I can’t help you if you will not tell me what is going on!” Before Jane could respond, Kate added, “Call me when you want to tell me.” She then hung up the phone.

She continued to walk along until she heard something. “ _Is that someone crying?”_ she wondered as she turned into an alleyway. The farther down she went, the louder the noise became until she came upon a basket. And what was in it shocked her.

It was a baby, no more than six months old. With a mess of dark red hair and dark brown eyes, the poor thing was screaming its lungs out. “Hey there,” Kate cooed as she knelt next to the basket. “Who left you here?”

Suddenly, she felt something hit her and then her body went numb. As she began to lose consciousness, she swore that she saw a woman with an eye patch standing over her.

***

As she slowly began to open her eyes, Kate noticed that she was in a white room. Medical equipment was all about as well as a number of computer screens lining the walls. “Ah, our guest has finally woken,” came a sinister female voice.

Kate immediately sat up to see a lady with short, slick dark hair and had an eye patch over her right eye. “Who are you?” she demanded.

“Madame Kovarian,” answered the woman. “Welcome to the Gamma Forests. In the 52nd Century,” she added with a horrible smile.

Kate looked at her confused. “Hold on a second,” she said. “What did you just say?”

“Oh, you heard me,” said Kovarian. “But you don’t need to know a whole lot about it for what we have in mind for you.”

Before Kate could respond, a small cry filled the air. She turned her head toward the noise and saw a makeshift crib in the corner. She got up and went over to it. It was the baby from the alley who, as she can finally see as a girl, was still crying. Picking her up, she rocked her a bit, which caused her to settle down a bit. “You do have the touch,” Kovarian commented.

Kate returned her attention back to the woman and said, “You never did tell me what you wanted from me.”

“What you are doing now,” the woman answered. Kate looked down at the baby. “That child has not responded to anyone or anything.”

“Where is her mother?”

“She can never return to her mother. She is too important.”

Kate was confused. “ _Is her mother dead?”_ she wondered. Not wanting to ask, she instead inquired, “What does this have to do with me?”

“Because you have the touch.”

“I don’t follow.”

Kovarian looked at her for a moment before that malicious smile returned to her face. “You have no idea, do you?” she asked.

Kate gave her a bewildered look. “Would I be asking?”

The older woman laughed. “You will find out soon enough. We seemed to have captured you in the early part of your time stream,” she replied. As she walked to the door, she added, “You are to remain here to care to the infant. You will not be allowed to leave and may only go out onto the courtyard with guards.” She opened the door and Kate saw the guards waiting outside. “Escort Miss Howard to her quarters.”

As the guards came toward her, she asked, “Are you going to tell me her name?”

But her question went unanswered. Kate held the child close to her as she walked with the guards. When they stopped at a door, one guard opened it and shoved her inside. However, before the door closed, she heard a male voice say in her ear, “Her name is Melody.” Then the door closed.

Looking down at the infant, Kate said, “Well, Melody, look at the pickle we find ourselves in.” The baby gurgled happily, which caused her to chuckle. “ _So it begins,”_ she thought.

***

 _A Month Later_

She was now sick of seeing the same room. The last two days have been quite boring for Kate. Taking care of a baby was no picnic, but having barely enough supplies to properly care for her was not helping any. She made it work, though. Melody appeared to be happy, despite the living conditions. She just found out that she could crawl; so Kate spent most of the time chasing after “speed baby”. “Shoot, Melody,” she said after she caught her one time, “I do not want to even imagine how fast you will be when you figure out how to walk.” The baby gurgled happily, which caused Kate to laugh.

The guards were not even that helpful. All they did was drop off her food and sneer at her. “ _Well, not all of them_ ,” she thought. There was one guard in particular who was…intriguing to say the least. He introduced himself as Jake Hart and he mostly brought her what supplies they were willing to give her. He would ask how Melody was doing as well as flirt with her, though she gently turned him down. However, he eventually became a friend, especially when Kovarian came to take Melody for “medical exams”.

At first, she did not take much thought to it. She figured it was just check-ups to make sure that she was doing well. But this last time changed that. Kate stared in horror as she saw that the baby had lacerations all over her body. “What did you do to her?!” she demanded as she took Melody from a guard.

“A test,” was all that Kovarian would say.

Kate glared at her. “You don’t do this to a baby!” she fumed.

“ _That_ ,” said the older woman as she pointed at Melody, “is an abomination. However, she will turn into a useful weapon.”

“A weapon? Against who?”

“The most dangerous man to ever live.” With that, the woman turned and left the room, followed by all the guards except for Jake.

After the door closed, he went over to Kate, who was trying her best not to cry as she checked to see the extent of her injuries. “Is she going to be alright?” he asked softly.

“I think so,” she replied. “Luckily, the cuts are not too deep. All I need to do is to clean and bandage them.” Looking up at Jake, she decided to ask, “Do you know who she was talking about?”

He nodded. “The most wonderful man in the universe,” he replied. He then leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “You only have to hold on for a bit longer. He is coming to rescue you.” He then turned and left, leaving a confused Kate in his wake.

***

 _A week later_

Kate had no idea how much longer she was going to be able to last. Every time Melody came back to her, her injuries were becoming worse and worse. “Oh, Melody,” she cooed as she cradled the baby close to her. “ _I wish I could get you out of here_ ,” she thought. The infant did not deserve to be treated like some guinea pig.

Melody smiled up at her, causing her to smile back. The little one had no real idea what was going on here. She was just living her life the only way she knew how. But what would she think of all of this when she got older? Kate did not even want to imagine it.

Suddenly, guards came rushing in. “Bring the child,” one ordered. Another guard grabbed her arm and began to drag her out of the room.

Struggling to keep a hold on Melody, she demanded, “What in the world is going on? Where are you taking us?”

“Shut up,” one replied. Gunshots then filled the air as her escort ducked for cover. One dragged her with him as Kate held Melody close to her, using herself as a shield to keep the baby alive. After what seemed like forever, the shooting stopped. She proceeded to look up to see that the man next to her was dead.

Hearing footsteps, she stayed still, Melody still close to her chest. So engrossed she was in staying still that she failed to hear that the footsteps stopped. “You know, you can open your eyes now,” came a familiar male voice.

She looked up to see that it was Jake. “Jake?” she wondered.

Reaching out a hand to help her up, he replied, “Real name is Captain Jack Harkness. How about we get out of here?” He then grabbed her by the arm and led her out of the place as the sirens continued to blare.


	2. Escaping Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate and Melody have escaped thanks to Jack. But will they escape the Forests?

"Where are we going?” asked Kate as she followed Jack out into the courtyard. Strands of her shoulder-length brown hair were blowing in the wind, while Melody was gurgling with delight at the feel of the wind on her face.

Keeping his focus ahead, Jack replied, “To meet up with the Doctor.”

“Who?”

“The man you asked me about. Remember when Kovarian told you the Melody was going to be used as a weapon against a dangerous man? It was the Doctor she was talking about.”

“So why are we meeting up with him?”

“Because she was lying.”

“Obviously,” she said as they came to the edge of the forest. “But what can he do to help us?”

Jack stopped and looked at her with cool pity in his eyes. “You don’t belong in this century, Kate,” he replied.

“Stating the obvious.”

“The Doctor is a Time Lord. The last of the Time Lords. He can travel the whole of Time and Space. He will be able to get you back to where you belong,” he explained. Melody then began to fuss. He looked down at her and put his hand gently against her cheek. “She deserves a good life.”

“What happened to her mother?” asked Kate, pulling the baby close to her. Indeed, the little one had become very dear to her over the last month; and nothing was ever going to change that.

“Ask him when you meet him. He’ll be able to tell you.” With that, Jack walked into the forest.

Kate followed behind him. The towering trees were impressive and very exotic. It was almost like a jungle; except instead of the leaves being a green color, she saw that they ranged from navy blue to dark purple to golden yellow. She had never seen anything like this before. “So, I am really on another planet?” she wondered aloud.

“Welcome to a portion of the Gamma Forests,” replied Jack. “It’s a neutral world. Everyone can come here and be at peace without fear of being caught. Even if they were, the person would not be extradited.”

“A haven,” she murmured. She smiled in delight as the cool wind blew and the sun hit her face. She had not felt this since she was captured. “So how is the Church able to operate on a planet like this? If the Forests are neutral and peaceful, why would they let that organization be here?” she asked.

“Let’s just say the Church has its influence.”

“Ah.” It made some kind of sense. Even from where she was from, organizations used a lot of the same tactics. A person just needed to know how to counter them. Being brought out of her musing by a small cry, Kate looked down to see that Melody was fussy. And that she knew why. “She’s hungry,” she stated. “I didn’t grab anything for her to eat.”

“Considering that you had no time,” stated Jack.

“You can say that. Are we going to be reaching anywhere soon?”

“We’ll be reaching my speeder in a few minutes. The nearest spaceport is about an hour from here. When we get there, we should be able to find supplies,” he answered. He turned his head slightly and added, “The fruit around here isn’t harmful. Grab some and see if she’ll eat it.”

The young woman looked around and saw what the captain was talking about. A variety of strange fruit were growing about them, with some even looking interesting to try. Grabbing what looked like a kind of grape, she put one close to Melody’s mouth and said, “Come on, girlie. Try this on for size.” The baby moved her head slightly to study before taking a bite out of it. She appeared to enjoy it, grabbing it into her tiny hands and munching on it. “Good girl,” cooed Kate as she hurried to catch up with her rescuer.

A little while later, they came into a clearing with some sort of vehicle parked in the middle of it. _“Jack’s transportation, most likely,”_ thought Kate as Jack opened the passenger seat door for her, allowing her to get in. He then got into the driver’s seat. When he saw that she had Melody tightly secured close to her, he ordered, “Hold on tight to her. We’re going fast.”

Before she knew it, Kate was holding on to Melody for dear life. “This is entirely too fast,” she complained.

“We need to gain some ground before they can regroup. Before we left, I shut down a lot of their security systems. It won’t take them long to get them back up and running. I want to get as much distance between us and them as I can.”

“Won’t they check spaceport first?”

“We won’t be there long enough to worry about it,” he replied as he hit the accelerator harder. Kate screamed. “I thought you would be a daredevil!” said Jack.

“Not with seven-month-old in my arms, I’m not,” she retorted. Jack just laughed as they sped off.

***

True to Jack’s word, they arrived at the spaceport about an hour later. Kate stayed in the speeder while Jack went into what appeared to be a store. “Well, Melody, looks like we are going to be getting out of here,” she said to the baby. Melody smiled at her; Kate had the baby sitting on the console, which seemed to make her happy. Jack managed to find her a small string to play with, so now she was playing tug of war with her. “At this rate, you’re going to become an excellent pet,” teased the woman as she laughed at the baby’s antics.

The marketplace they were parked in was rather small, with white-washed building making up the square. Stalls were opened with merchants attempting to sell their fares to interested women. Children were about, playing with balls and sticks. It looked like a scene Kate would find someplace on Earth, if it was not for that fact that she was a million light-years away.

A sudden sound startled her, and she looked up to see a distressed Jack. “What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“We need to leave now!” he said, urgency evident in his voice. He began to grab his gun and what supplies he could get and put them in a bag; his gun remained in his hand.

As she got out of the speeder, she asked, “What is going on, Jack?”

“They found us faster than I anticipated. We need to keep moving,” he replied. Kate’s blood froze as she clutched Melody closer to her. There was no way the baby was going back; she would rather die than to see that happen. She attached herself to Jack’s side, not willing to even let him get out of her sight. “Just act as if we are a normal couple out shopping,” he whispered.

Kate did her best to keep a smile on her face, but the feeling of being tracked kept gnawing at her no matter how hard she attempt to ignore it. But, when she heard someone yell “There they are”, fear suddenly came to the forefront. Jack pushed her ahead of him, telling her to keep running. She ran with everything she could muster, holding Melody close to her. All she could think about was finding a way to get Melody out of there.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the wind began to pick up and loud machine-like sound began to fill the air. Kate screamed as debris began hitting her. Once it calmed down, Jack pushed her forward, ordering, “Get into that box!”

Kate did as she was told and made run for the box while gunshots began to fill the air. Reaching the box, she pushed it open and ran in. She turned back around to see Jack making his way to her. “Come on, Jack!” she cried.

He continued to run and managed to get in just before someone caught up with him. Slamming the door before anyone could get in, he yelled, “Get us out of here!”

“Hold on!” another male voice yelled back. Kate felt Jack wrap an arm around her waist just when everything started to be jerked about. She held on to the baby tightly until everything went still.

“You’re still a lousy driver!” complained Jack as he let go of Kate. She proceeded to open her eyes to see…well, she did not know what she was seeing. It was a very large circular room with three levels. On the second level was a hexagonal console that had instruments like a typewriter, a telegraph, and a gramophone on it. There was some sort of a reddish-yellow glow to the lighting while the column coming out of the console was a bluish-green.

And standing next to the console was a young man, dressed in a light blue shirt with a burgundy bow tie, black trousers, suspenders, and a tweed jacket. His hair was dark and slick yet wavy. “Where are we?” she asked.

The man smiled. “Welcome to the TARDIS, Kate Howard!” he greeted as he walked toward her. He stopped in front of her and continued, “I’m the Doctor. And you are protecting something precious.” He looked at Melody and placed the tips of his fingers against her face. The baby giggled and grabbed one of his fingers, proceeding to suck on it.

Looking at the Doctor, the man who was apparently not dangerous, Kate asked, “Now will someone tell me what is going on?”

  
  


	3. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Safely in the TARDIS, Kate is wanting answers. However, a little someone wants attention first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own _Doctor Who_.

“That’s an interesting question,” replied the Doctor as he turned away and walked back towards the console. He flicked a few switches and the ship shifted slightly. “There, now we are completely safe in the Vortex,” he reported.

“The what?” asked a confused Kate.

Jack smiled. “He’s talking about the Time Vortex. Remember, he’s a time traveler,” he explained.

She nodded. She still did not understand a word that he just said – science was Jane’s territory – but something felt right about it. She still had to say, “So, basically you’re telling is that we are actually travelling through time through some sort of…tunnel?”

“You can say that,” chuckled Jack as he walked past her and stopped in front of the Doctor. “Took you long enough,” he told him.

“I had to take a detour. Got stuck in the 17th century.”

“Sure you did,” Jack retorted, turning back to give Kate a grin.

She giggled in response, but stopped when Melody began to squirm. “Do you have someplace I can settle her down in?” she asked. “It’s been a long day and Melody is getting tired.”

The Doctor smiled and replied, “Just go through that door and turn left. When you reach a door you feel is right, it probably is. Just rest for a bit and we can talk later.”

Nodding, she then looked at Jack, wondering what he was going to do next. He gave her a comforting smile and assured, “I’ll still be here, Kate. I’m not leaving you. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

She returned his smile and walked to the door that the Doctor indicated. Going through, she turned left and walked down the corridor until she reached a door. The feeling that was enveloping her was warm and inviting. “He said to use the one that felt right,” she muttered as she looked down at the baby. “What do you think?” she asked. All Melody did was gurgle. Pausing for a moment, Kate made her decision and reached for the doorknob.

Opening it, she saw that she was in a bedroom. The walls were a light cream color, with the molding a woodland green. The bed that was there was queen-sized, with rich dark maple bedposts and frame; and comforters that were the same cream color as the walls. In one corner, there was a lovely mahogany crib and changing table. “Well, sweetie, someone thought of everything,” she said as she entered the room.

Kate walked over to another door and opened it. She smiled in glee as she saw that it was a bathroom, equipped with a bathtub, toilet, and sink. “I think that it’s time for a bath,” she told the baby. She walked over to the changing table, took Melody out of her clothes and diaper, and wrapped her in the towel she grabbed from the bathroom.

She went back into the bathroom, put the plug in the drain, and began to run warm water. When the tub filled to the desired height, she stopped it and gently placed Melody in. The baby laughed in delight at the feel of the water and began to splash it. Kate laughed. “Hey now,” she said, “we need to get you clean.” The splashing stopped and she began to clean Melody up. Once that was done, she dried her and took her back out toward the changing table. She put a new diaper and a one-piece on Melody. _“But where did that one-piece come from,”_ she thought. In fact, the bed had quite a few changes of clothing, both for her and for Melody. _“Weird,”_ she thought as she looked at her charge. Kate smiled as she saw the baby yawn. “I think it’s time for bed,” she said as she laid the little one into the crib.

After assuring herself that Melody was asleep, she grabbed the tank top, sleep pants, and underwear from the bed and headed back into the bathroom, intent on taking a shower. She wanted to wash away the weeks of pain and dirt from her body and feel relaxed and safe again. As the water fell over her body, she began to cry. She began to cry over every moment that was lost to her, over every moment that Kovarian took away from Melody that she could have had with her mother. As she dried herself off, she wondered what her friends were doing at this moment, if Jane managed to open that wormhole. She even wondered if her family was missing her. _“Like they would even care,”_ she thought as she put on the sleep pants and tank top.

As she walked back into the bedroom, Kate stopped when she saw Jack on the bed, his upper body leaning against the headboard. In his arms was Melody, who was sleeping soundly. Jack looked up when he noticed her walk in. “I came by to see if you and Melody were settling in alright,” he said as gently shifted the baby. She cried out in response before quieting down.

Kate smiled. “We doing alright,” she said as she moved to the other side of the bed. Crawling into bed, she sat next to him and asked, “What are you going to do after this?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, keeping his eyes on Melody. “I helped you and Melody as a favor to the Doctor. I spent all these years traveling from planet to planet, just ignoring everything and everyone around me. I just wanted to forget.”

“Forget what?” she asked. Jack did not answer, just kept his gaze down on the baby. Seeing that he was not going to respond, she instead asked, “Why did you help us?”

It was at this question that he turned his gaze to her; and in that gaze Kate saw the weight of years shining out from his eyes. _“How old is he?”_ she thought. “I’ve known the Doctor for years, and just can’t seem to refuse him when he comes to call,” he answered.

“How old are you?”

He laughed. “Too old,” he responded. “I’m immortal. I can’t even die permanently. I’ve died thousands of times.” He trailed off after that.

Kate just looked at him. She felt pity for him. Somewhere deep down, he is suffering from some pain, a pain that he would not admit to. And the look on his face just made her want to cry. “I’m glad you helped us,” she said, placing a hand on his closest arm.

Jack just smiled at her before moving out of the bed, Melody still in his arms. He walked over to the crib and placed the baby in it. He then turned to Kate and said, “Get some sleep. We have a lot of decisions to make tomorrow.” And with that, he walked out of the room.

Kate just stared at the door for a moment before falling asleep, the mysterious captain with his sorrowful eyes invading her dreams. 


	4. A Talk with the Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate tries to get some answers from the Doctor.

Kate woke up a few hours later to crying. Proceeding to get up, she walked over to the crib to see Melody crying in her sleep. _“She must be having a nightmare,”_ she thought as she reached down to pick the baby. She immediately stopped and tried to push her small body into Kate’s chest. “Hush now,” she cooed. “No need to cry. No one’s going to get you.” She felt the little one relax. “I’m not going to let that happen,” she promised as she walked over to a dresser. She pulled a pair of denim and a purple shirt for Melody. Then, she walked back to the changing table, proceeding to change the squirming infant’s diaper and attempted to put the clothes on her. “Melody, stop moving,” said Kate. But Melody would not stop – she just kept moving. After trying a few more times, she finally gave up. “What is wrong, sweetie? You’re never like this,” observed the woman. But the little one just kept on fidgeting and crying. She was about to give up until she heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” she called.

The door opened and Jack walked in. He was dressed in black slacks, a cream-colored shirt with a white one underneath, and a vintage World War II long coat. “Sounds like you’re having fun,” he said as he closed the door.

“She won’t stop crying,” Kate responded, as she picked up the still fidgeting baby. She was so frustrated that tears were welling up into her eyes. “No matter what I do, she just won’t stop.”

Jack looked at the crying baby and the near-crying woman. Taking Melody from Kate, Jack rocked the baby in his arms, saying, “What’s wrong, sweetheart? What’s causing you to make Kate so upset?” As if in response, Melody quieted down. Kate looked at Jack with a confused look. He shrugged. “She may be telepathic and is more than likely sensing the pain you are going through,” he said.

“By everything we went through?”

“You’re both still recovering. It takes time.” She just nodded, wondering if Jack was speaking from experience. Before she could say anything, he continued, “The Doctor wants to see you alone.”

“Alone?” she murmured nervously.

He chuckled. “He won’t bite. Just go to the console room,” he reassured.

Accepting his advice, she took one last look at Melody before leaving the room, still feeling the pain in her soul.

***

Kate entered the console room quietly. The Doctor was at the console, fiddling with a computer screen. “Good morning,” he greeted as he continued what he was doing.

“Jack said you wanted to talk to me?”

“I assumed you had some questions for me; so I’m available to give you that opportunity,” he replied, turning to face her fully. He then gestured toward a chair.

As she took a seat, she asked, “Do you know why Kovarian kidnapped me?”

He sighed. “That had to be the first question you would ask,” he answered. Leaning back against the console, he continued, “I can’t answer that. Too early in your timeline for you to know; though Kovarian probably would have taunted you about it.”

“How would she know?”

“She’s from the future, remember? Your history would already be known to her.”

 _“Should have known that,”_ thought Kate as she leaned back in the chair. It was all so confusing to her. “But what’s so special about me?” she asked. The Time Lord paused for a moment before letting out a chuckle. She gave him a bewildered looked before inquiring, “What?”

“You just reminded me about an old companion of mine. She thought she was not that special.”

“What happened to her?”

His face fell. “She became the most important woman in the universe. But then I had to take away her memories,” he responded. Seeing her look, he added, “She…absorbed some of my Time Lord abilities, making her part-Time Lord. However, her mind could not handle all that information.”

“So you had to take it from her,” Kate said, realizing that he did not like talking about it. Deciding to change the subject, she asked, “What happened to Melody’s mother?”

“Amy Pond is alive and well, as is her husband Rory Williams.”

“So Melody was kidnapped?”

“When Kovarian found out that Amy was pregnant – something we did not know at the time -, she had her kidnapped and replaced with a very realistic doppelganger. The clone was telepathically connected to Amy, so the one with Rory and I kept thinking that she was pregnant.”

“Which was true.”

“Yes, but not to the clone. She also kept seeing Kovarian in flashes. When I disconnected the link, the clone dissolved.”

“And?”

“We went to war to get Amy and the baby back, which we did. But what I didn’t know was that Kovarian had switch Melody out with a Flesh doppelganger. After she taunted me, she disconnected the link, causing the clone to dissolve in Amy’s arms. Then a…,” he trailed off, as if trying to figure out how to word his next word, “friend of mine appeared.”

“A friend?”

“A woman named River Song. I asked for her help with the battle but she said she could not get involved. Then she revealed something to me.”

Kate looked at him and asked, “What did she say?”

The Doctor responded by pulling out what appeared to be a leaflet and handed it to her. “A sympathetic soldier made this for Melody,” he answered.

She looked at it. “I can’t read it,” she said.

He smiled and replied, “It’s written in the native language of the Gamma Forests.” She looked up at him. “Look at it again. The TARDIS will help you translate it.” Kate looked back down at it and watched as the words started to translate. “Now, the soldier wrote Melody’s name with Amy’s last name of Pond.”

“Melody Pond.”

“Yes. Now, there is no word for ‘melody’ in the language, so the soldier put in ‘song’. And since the only water in the forest is the river,” he explained, saying that last phrase as if it was told to him, “she put the word ‘river’.”

“Song River,” she murmured. Realization came to her as she said, “River Song.” She looked at the Time Lord. “Your friend; the woman who could not get involved in the battle because she was already a part of the battle. She couldn’t interfere with her own timeline.”

“Yes. When I realized that, I took off, leaving River to explain and take her parents back to their own time. But Kovarian had hidden Melody quite cleverly and it took me a while to find them. When I did…”

“You recruited Jack to help.”

The Doctor nodded. “He went in as a new recruit. When he reported that Kovarian had kidnapped you, I told him to find a way to get you and Melody out.”

“Which he did, and I ended up here.”

“And now we need to decide what to do next.”


	5. A Path Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decisions have to made. What is going to be done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By some urging from my beta, I am going to be turning this into a series. Just keep watching!

The Doctor left her alone for a few minutes in order to get Jack. Alone in her thoughts, Kate thought about what she just learned. She could not help but feel sorry for Amy. To have your child taken away like that…she could not even imagine it. _“I don’t think I would have survived that,”_ she thought. Hearing a noise, she turned to see the Doctor and Jack walk in, little Melody sleeping soundly in Jack’s arms. She took the baby from his arms and cradled her. “Looks like you are going to have an interesting life,” she told the baby.

“Oh, most definitely,” replied the Doctor. “But, we have to figure what to do with Melody.”

“What do you mean?”

“We need to figure out where to hide her. Find a place where Kovarian won’t be able to find her,” he replied.

“Why not keep her here?”

“It’s not time for her to be here yet. Nor can she stay with any of us,” he answered, looking at Kate with sadness in his eyes.

Kate stared into those eyes and then looked at the baby sleeping in her arms. She knew what the Time Lord was implying, but she did not understand. “Why not?” she asked. “Why not take her back to her parents?”

“Because Kovarian will look there first and take her again,” answered Jack as he moved to stand next to the nearly crying woman. “I don’t think her parents could bear losing her again.”

She looked up into his eyes, tears about to stream from her own. “And she can’t stay with us?”

“It would be safer for her not to be. That bloody woman is going to be tracking us. If we separate, she would have to track multiple leads,” answered the Doctor.

Kate sighed. She knew that this was the right course. Looking at Melody, she said, “I never felt so close to anyone before in my life. How can I give this up?”

Jack pulled her and Melody into a hug and replied, “By being strong for her. Just know that she is going to be safe and grow up to be a good person. You gave that chance to her.”

 _“He’s right,”_ she thought, _“I did give her that chance.”_ Pulling herself out of his embrace, she turned to the Doctor and asked, “So, what’s the plan.”

He smiled kindly at her and replied, “Jack is going to take Melody with him and raise her as his own. You, however, are going to be coming with me.”

“Are you taking me home?”

“Definitely not. Kovarian wants _both_ of you. You’re the only one she has ever encountered that could calm an unwilling child with a single touch. No, you both need to be separated. That way she would have to spread her resources.”

“She would have to run herself thin,” said Kate. She paused and looked at the Time Lord. He looked so young; but when she looked into his eyes, she saw the years of wisdom. He was a man who knew what she was doing. “I’ll be traveling with you?”

“Yep! I’ve been without company since I left Amy and Rory. I felt that traveling would be a bit hard on them at the moment,” he answered.

“A wise idea,” said Kate. _“Sounds like it could be a bit interesting,”_ she thought as she looked at Jack. “Is it dangerous?” she asked her rescuer.

“Traveling with the Doctor is always dangerous,” he answered. “But the things that you do will make it all worthwhile in the end.”

Thinking for a moment, she turned back to the Doctor and said, “Alright. I’m in.”

The Doctor gave her a wide smile. “Then it’s decided,” he said as he clapped his hands happily. “Jack, I’m going to drop you off on Earth in the 23rd Century. You and River can go from there.”

“River?” asked Jack.

“Melody is destined to become River Song. And it’s best to raise her under another name.”

“Right,” said Jack as he took Melody from Kate.

As the Doctor messed with the console, the woman looked at the sleeping baby and kissed her little forehead. “You be good for Jack, sweetie,” she said. “I’m going to miss you so much.” It was at this point that tears began to run down her cheeks.

Jack again pulled her to him with his free arm. “You’ll see each other again. Time travel, remember?” he said as Kate lifted her head to look at him.

“What about you?” she asked. “Will we meet again?”

He smiled. Kissing her forehead, he replied, “We certainly will. Though just a tad bit out of order.”

“Why do I believe that?” questioned Kate as she felt the TARDIS stop.

The Doctor came up to them and said, “It’s time.”

Jack nodded at kissed Kate’s forehead again. She then gave Melody one last kiss on her cheek before letting go of Jack and stepping towards the Doctor. “I’ll take good care of her,” he promised.

“I’m sure you will,” she said. They stared at each other before Jack turned and walked towards the doors. He opened it and walked out.

When the door closed, she began to cry. Emotions long left buried began to resurface as she began to cry. The Time Lord pulled her into a hug. “It’s going to be alright,” he said as he held her. Kate did not answer. She just continued to cry into his chest, her tears staining his shirt. After a while, she let go and rubbed her eyes. “Why don’t you go relax for a while?” he suggested. “When you feel better, I’ll take you somewhere nice.” Looking at him, she nodded and walked back towards her room. The crib and changing table were already gone; and this solidified the fact that her little girl was gone. She lay on her bed, lying on her stomach as her face pushed hard against the pillow. As new tears emerged, all she could think about was what could have been.


End file.
